


Warmth and Misfortune

by Kiraly



Series: Kiraly's 100 Fics Prompt Challenge [2]
Category: A Redtail's Dream (Webcomic)
Genre: 100 fics prompt challenge, Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Naked Cuddling, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-31 18:30:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6482167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiraly/pseuds/Kiraly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hannu has the worst luck, but - luckily - he also has Ville.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Warmth and Misfortune

**Author's Note:**

> For the 100 Fics Prompt Challenge: 13 - Misfortune  
> Also based on a prompt from a list of "100 Ways to Say I Love You" from Tumblr: "You're Warm." Requested by yuuago.

_Of all the people this could happen to, of course it had to happen to me._

Hannu broke the surface and came up coughing, scrabbling at the jagged ice to find a way to pull himself up. He could vaguely hear the others calling him, shouting over each other too fast for him to understand. _Stop talking and help me,_ he wanted to say, but couldn’t spare the breath.

It was all their fault this was happening, anyway. He hadn’t wanted to go skating, had in fact refused outright when they asked him. But Paju lectured, and the twins threatened all kinds of mischief, and then they brought in Ville with his wistful, it-sure-would-be-fun routine. So unfair, using Ville like that. It was like they knew how hard it was for Hannu to refuse him. With that many people ganging up on him, Hannu had reluctantly agreed.

_That’s the last time I ever agree to something like this. I’d almost prefer to face the Hiisi moose again. At least then I didn’t have these stupid knives strapped to my feet._

The cold water weighed him down, made his limbs feel like they were filled with lead. But Hannu wasn’t giving up, much as he wanted to. He managed to get both arms over the edge. Then his chest. Then his energy ran out, and he started to slip back in—

Strong hands caught Hannu under the armpits and heaved him out of the water. “Oh no oh no no no, what do I—Hannu! Don’t leave me!”

Hannu was too busy coughing up water to respond. Even once they cleared the hole in the ice, he couldn’t get his feet under him. He tried to push himself up, slipped, and cracked his knees painfully on the ice. “Dammit!”

“Stop that, you’ll hurt yourself! Can someone help me?” Ville’s voice was panicked, barely holding himself together even though his arms were tight around Hannu. The other voices converged on them all at once.

“Someone get his skates off!”

“Give me your coat, we have to keep him warm!”

“I knew we should have tested the ice better!”

“Well if Hannu hadn’t gone all the way out there—”

“Quit arguing and help me get him on his feet!” That was Ville again, snapping at the rest of them and sounding not at all like himself. Hannu would have applauded if he hadn’t been so cold.

“D...didn’t know you could...sound s...so mean, Ville,” he muttered around chattering teeth. They had him on his feet now, hands and bodies pressing against him as they half-marched, half-carried him away.

“Where should we take him?” That was Jonna, sounding worried.

“The bakery? It’s close, and it’s warm there,” Joona replied.

Paju interjected, “Yes, but we have to get him out of these wet clothes. We can’t just strip him down in the middle of—”

“We’re taking him home,” Ville said. There it was again, that note of steel that Hannu so seldom heard. Usually Ville only used it with him, when Hannu had been especially rude to someone. “It’s not that much farther, and he’ll feel better in his own bed. Right, Hannu?”

“Mmhmm.” It was hard to focus enough to form words, but it was nice that at least _someone_ bothered to ask what he wanted. The others protested, but Ville refused to back down. He kept one arm tight around Hannu’s waist and struck out in the direction of their house, seemingly determined to haul Hannu there by himself if he had to. Eventually the whole group spilled over their doorstep.

“We have to get him out of his clothes and somewhere warm,” Paju was saying again, “and check his fingers and toes for frostbite. Shared body heat—”

Hannu missed what she said next, because the twins had wrestled his boots and coat off and were starting on his pants. “Stoppit! I can...I don’t need…” Somehow he mustered the strength to shove their hands away. “Get off! Stop fussing and get out of my house, you jerks. I can do this myself!”

Paju sighed, exasperated. “Hannu, you clearly _cannot,_ you can barely stand! We’re not just going to leave you—”

Hannu bristled, opened his mouth to protest even though he was shaking so hard he thought he might shatter. Then a familiar arm slid around his waist again. “I can take it from here, guys. He’s all upset, arguing won’t do him any good. Go ahead and go, I’ll call you if I need any more help.”

“But—”

Ville silenced Paju with one of his plaintive looks. “Please?”

Hannu thought, not for the first time, that there must be some lingering trace of magic around Ville. How else could he manage to get people to do what he wanted, just by asking nicely? However it worked, Ville got their friends out the door and propelled Hannu the rest of the way into the bedroom before Hannu knew what was happening.

“It’s okay, everyone’s gone. Let me help.”

 _Damn._ Ville’s magic worked on Hannu, too, because somehow he found himself allowing his roommate to peel the rest of his wet clothes away. He only had a second to shiver before Ville tucked him into bed under a pile of blankets. Ville pulled his own hat off and used it to cover Hannu’s wet hair. “How’s that? Are you getting warmer?”

Hannu probably was, but it didn’t feel like it yet. “Y...yes?”

Ville frowned. “I don’t think you are. What else did Paju say?” He rubbed his chin and thought. “Oh, right!” He shrugged out of his coat and bent down to unlace his boots.

“Wha...what are you doing?” Hannu tried to make the question sound like a demand, but in his weakened state it came out feeble. Like a fretful old man, rather than a surly young one.

Ville ignored his tone and kept shedding layers. “Paju said shared body heat was a good way to warm someone up. But it won’t work through lots of clothes, and my outside clothes are all wet anyway, so…”

Hannu closed his eyes. “Ville, you don’t have to, I’ll be—”

“Stubborn,” Ville finished for him. The blankets moved, and a body radiating heat slid in beside him. “There. Now I can really take care of you.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I _want_ to, Hannu.”

This whole situation was ridiculous. Hannu wanted to fling himself away, say something unforgivable so Ville would leave him alone. He was good at saying awful things.

But when he opened his mouth, all he said was, “You’re warm.”

Ville snuggled closer. “I know.” He wrapped his arm around Hannu again—it was surprising how natural it felt, to have Ville so thoroughly invade his personal space—and pillowed his face on Hannu’s shoulder. After a moment, he added, “I’m sorry I’m not warmer, though. If I still had fur, it would be better.”

It might have been _warmer_ that way, but Hannu wasn’t sure about _better._ Sometimes he did miss things about dog-Ville, who had been easier to hug without embarrassment and never talked back. But he wasn’t sure he’d trade that for what he’d gained with Ville-the-human. A dog couldn’t have pulled him out of the water, couldn’t have supported him on the way home and convinced his busybody friends to take a hike. And sure, dog-Ville could have warmed him up, but...not like this.

“It’s okay, Ville. This is...good.”

They were close enough that he could feel Ville’s sigh as well as hear it. “Hannu?”

“Mmm?”

“I was really scared. I kept thinking about that time with the moose. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come up.”

Hannu sighed too, and cautiously draped an arm over Ville. “It’s okay. I’m fine, Ville.”

“You’re still shivering.”

He was, and only in part from the cold. “I...might have been scared, too. A little.”

“Really?” Ville tightened his embrace. Hypothermia or not, there was probably no need to be _quite_ this close. But Hannu allowed it, and allowed himself to enjoy it a little. He could go back to reminding Ville about appropriate human boundaries tomorrow.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” Ville whispered. “And you know I love you, right?”

Hannu did know. Ville said so at least once a day, even though Hannu had told him over and over that people didn’t use the phrase lightly. Or at least, Hannu didn’t. Maybe that made it more of a Hannu-boundary than a human one.

“I know,” he muttered. That was how he usually responded, but it didn’t seem like enough. Ville deserved more. “Ville, I…”

“Hmm?”

“I…” The words stuck in his throat. “I...you...you’re really warm.” He couldn’t say it.

But with Ville, that didn’t matter. Hannu didn’t need to see Ville’s face; he could feel the smile widening against the bare skin of his shoulder. “I know.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Oh hey, another aRTD fic! I'm still figuring out how to write Hannu and Ville, so if anything seems out of character feel free to point it out. My first reaction to the "you're warm" prompt was to do something that involved Ville keeping Hannu warm, and...well, it sort of spiraled out of control. Apparently my default situation for these two involves cuddling, haha.
> 
> Also...still very much figuring out how to write shippy material that works for these two. I think Ville would be very comfortable about expressing love and affection, whereas Hannu would do his best to deny his feelings. I'm hoping to explore that further, but hopefully this gives a little taste of it.


End file.
